Turkey scouting

[cwitherow]

How early should I be scouting my turkey hunting spots? I won't be hunting until the end of April. I was thinking maybe a week or two, but with all this social distancing, I'm looking for things to do!

 

[np307]

Where are you? I'm already scouting in NC.

 

[cwitherow]

MN

 

[np307]

MN

Depends on the snow and weather I would guess. I don't have experience up there, but my understanding is that they'll move based on conditions. We don't really have to deal with that here, they occupy the same general areas year-round. Finding where they are now can't hurt. At worst, you know where they were and can try to figure out where they moved to. At best, they'll be in that area come late April.

 

[SaskHunter]

It's never too early to start, understanding that they herd up in the winter and will separate in the spring.

Where I normally hunt, you can only hunt from sun up to noon. I normally scout every night before they roost and set up accordingly the following morning.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

Get out there and scout now. I always try to scout before the beginning of the first season so I am not out messing up someone else's hunt.

 

[Nicapopolis]

Scout now. Birds should still be in winter flocks. Even after dispersal I bet there will still be some birds around where the winter flock was hanging out, amongst many other places.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I wait as close to season start as I can because their preferred food changes as it greens up and their movements change too.

 

[howl]

I scout while hunting other species. Then I go out and listen of a morning starting a couple of weeks ahead of opening day.

 

[NEWHunter]

Up here turkey patterns change a lot from now until the end of April. Look for sheds now and turkeys starting about two weeks prior to your hunt. Really get serious the few days prior.

 

[hammerguy]

I believe it's always good to know where the Minnesota turkeys are.....

 

[Zootownelk]

I'm in Iowa and started a few weeks ago. More than anything, I'm trying to get familiar with some new public land areas and get the lay of the land. I've seen a couple turkeys and found some tracks and scratching. I"m about the furthest thing from a turkey expert, but I've never regretted getting out. Probably a couple weeks before the season, I'll get more serious about actually finding birds.

 

[Prairie Rambler]

I'm in NE Washington, and I'm already scouting over here. Like Nic said, they're still in there winter flocks but they won't go far. Every flock of toms I've seen they're all fighting/strutting about constantly so they should breakup soon. They're definitely gobbling on the roost in the morning here.

 

[Runnin_Chupacabra]

Scouting can be the most fun part of the hunt. Trail cams can help so you don't bump birds while others are hunting as well.

 

[belshawelk]

I dunno but E. Oregon our seasons start 4/15. Last week I mus have saw 500 birds scattered in fields. Had about 30 or so on my place.

 

[Mainer207]

Im in NY and watched a tom breed a hen a couple days ago. I was walking a tote road and stumbled across the love making lol.
A minute later another Tom came running up the road and I watch the two toms fight for 10 minutes.
Needless to say, I’m fired up for the season.

 

[slatebuilder]

I observed a tom harassing a hen unmercifully a few evenings ago. There were 8 turkeys in all, and one of the gobblers was just beside himself going after her. The other birds were pretty much indifferent. Anytime now would be good to start listening for them at day break.

 

[F250]

Yesterday afternoon there were 8 jakes, 2 toms, and 1 hen in our horse pasture. Two days ago there were 4 toms, 5 jakes and 8 hens in the clover food plot just beyond the horse pasture. I too am getting excited for the May 1 opener !!

 

[Wally Dog]

Scouting = optics, ears, boot leather and absolutely NO turkey calls.

 

[RidgeRoamingRichard]

Scouting = optics, ears, boot leather and absolutely NO turkey calls.

Probably a dumb question, but why? I've heard of "shock" calling or calling to them while they're in the roost. Would that work to help figure out where they're roosting?